Hanging plants for the fall

To bring the most glory to the fall season, the warm shades of autumn burst in the abundant blooms of mums in orange, yellow, bronze, and red.

A compliment to any fall or harvest celebration, mums bring it all home, stopping the show solo or in an ensemble in hanging baskets.

Trailing varieties of mums are called Skyfall which naturally cascade out of hanging planters.

To make the most of your mums in hanging baskets, check out Deadheading Mums + More Tips to Make Chrysanthemums Last Longer.

5. Snapdragon

Perhaps a cold-weather holdout, this stunning annual continues to deliver exciting color. Snapdragons come in all shades, many complementary to the rich harvest colors of autumn.

In hanging baskets, snapdragons are on the tall side. When pinched earlier in the summer they will be bushier with abundant unique blooms.

Pop some snapdragons into a hanging basket that may need a late-season rescue with other annuals that take a chill with grace, such as petunias and bacopa.

6. Verbena

Frosty cool temperatures augment the delicious spicy citrus aroma of the beautiful, trailing verbena plants that continue to bloom even at 15° F.

Growing in zones 5 to 11, verbena range in colors from whites, dark purples, deep pinks, blues, and robust reds.

Spilling and filling, verbena have a long bloom season, and their trailing habit compliments a stunning fall hanging basket while enchanting the chilled air with an enticing aroma.

7. Ornamental Cabbage and Kale

With foliage so pretty it looks like its blooming, ornamental cabbage and kale steal the show with their contrasting reds, purples, pinks, greens, creams, and whites.

The strapping tough leaves glide through fall delivering deeper colors as the temperature drops, even below 5° F.

From frilly flamboyant foliage to sturdy striking spiky leaves. The uses for ornamental cabbages and kales in a fall hanging basket are unusual and eye-catching.

8. Pansies

A sure-fire mood lifter in the contemplative autumn, pansies’ rich vibrant colors, and bold design bring a smile to any dreary day.

Exceptionally perfect for fall hanging baskets, pansies prefer moist rich soil in zones 6 to 9 and thrive in cool weather.

Pansies play well with others, bringing out the best of ornamental grasses, cabbage, kale, and foliage plants. They have a ton of varieties, colors, and sizes to choose from.

9. Million Bells

This easy plant breezes through summer overflowing with abundant single or double mini-petunia-like blooms well into fall.

The spectrum of colors is vast for the well-named million bells, hardy in zones 9 to 11. Available in many autumn-inspired shades of bronze, orange, magenta, and purple.

Overflowing, mounding, and spilling, Calibrachoa is incredibly showy stuffed in fall hanging baskets.

10. Ivy

Gorgeous any time of year, but Ivy works its magic weaving summer into fall and holds its own carrying any fall-inspired hanging basket right into winter.

Thick, glossy leaves are solid or variegated and may be oval, arrowhead, palmate, to maple-like depending on the cultivar, with many Ivy varieties hardy in zones 4 to 9.

So useful, Ivy not only cascades but this sturdy vine can also be trained upward as well. Making it perfect for fall hanging baskets that are welcome indoors in poor weather.

Final Takeaway

Stunning fall hanging baskets help to elevate fall celebrations with long-lasting durability and gorgeous rich tones and textures to embellish the best this season has to offer.

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12 Fall Plants for Container Gardens & Hanging Baskets

Surprising, Beautiful Choices

By

Kerry Michaels

Kerry Michaels

Kerry Michaels is a container gardening expert with over 20 years of experience maintaining container gardens in Maine. She specializes in writing and capturing photography for gardening and landscape design for print and broadcast media, including the Discovery Channel, Small Gardens, and Disney, among others.

Learn more about The Spruce's Editorial Process

Updated on 09/06/22

Reviewed by

Debra LaGattuta

Reviewed by Debra LaGattuta

Debra LaGattuta is a gardening expert with three decades of experience in perennial and flowering plants, container gardening, and raised bed vegetable gardening. She is a Master Gardener and lead gardener in a Plant-A-Row, which is a program that offers thousands of pounds of organically-grown vegetables to local food banks. Debra is a member of The Spruce Gardening and Plant Care Review Board.

Learn more about The Spruce's Review Board

The Spruce / Autumn Wood 

Many of the same fall plants grown and flowering in the garden make fine specimens for container gardens and hanging baskets. Good candidates for flowers for fall planters include any plant that has a genetic disposition to autumnal blooming or has a long-lasting bloom period that extends into the season. Good tolerance for the cooler temperatures of fall is also essential; heat-loving species don't thrive in the fall.

Traditionally, containers and hanging baskets are planted with vigorous-blooming annual flowers, but increasingly, gardeners are using traditional garden perennials in their container garden designs. While plant species have varying soil needs when planted in garden settings, most plants do quite well in containers filled with ordinary general-purpose potting soil.

Here are 12 good ornamental plants to consider for your fall container gardens.

• 01 of 12

  
  retrofutur / Getty Images

  Coral bells, a long-favored species for gardens, have also become a favorite container plant. These perennial plants come in a range of colors and leaf textures, and they are almost impossible to kill. Coral bells is a mounding plant and it looks great on its own, paired with contrasting plants, or with plants that offer varying shades of the same color. Coral bells can work especially well with gourds, mums, and ornamental grasses. Choose a dark, almost black leaf, like 'Dolce, Licorice' or the lighter 'Dolce, Peach Melba' for a terrific fall plant that works well with many fall decorations. They also look lovely when paired with pumpkin planters.

  • USDA Hardiness Zones: 4 to 8
  • Flower Color Varieties: Red, white, coral, pink
  • Light: Full sun to partial sun
  • Soil Needs: Moist, loamy soil
  • Deer Resistant: Yes

• 02 of 12

   

  fotokate / Getty Images

  Verbena is a large genus of prolific-blooming species, but the varieties most often grown in containers are shorter types that are usually grown as annuals. They are suitable fall flowers based on a long bloom period and their tolerance for cool temperatures. Many verbenas are hardy down to 15 degrees Fahrenheit and will continue flowering even after the first frost. Verbenas look great either on their own or filling in spaces and spilling over the edges of garden planters, window boxes, or hanging baskets. Colors range from white to brilliant reds to deep dark blue to purples and pinks.

  • USDA Hardiness Zones: 5 to 11
  • Flower Color Varieties: White, pink, red, peach, lavender, blue, purple
  • Light: Full sun
  • Soil Needs: Acidic soil
  • Deer Resistant: Yes

• 03 of 12

  Kerry Michaels

  A warm-weather perennial generally grown as an annual, oxalis is elegant and cheerful. It is exceedingly easy to grow and likes partial shade to full shade. Oxalis is a mounding plant and grows to be 12 to 18 inches high, making it a good plant to use as a filler in a container. It comes in several colors including a nearly black, ‘Charmed Velvet', and a burgundy color called ‘Charmed Wine'. Another nice feature about oxalis is that you can bring it indoors to overwinter.

  • USDA Hardiness Zones: 8 to 11
  • Flower Color Varieties: Mauve, pink, lavender, pinkish-white
  • Light: Partial shade
  • Soil Needs: Well-draining soil
  • Deer Resistant: Yes

• 04 of 12

  Kerry Michaels

  Ornamental cabbages are delightfully chubby and cheerful plants, while the kales are spiky. However, both of these plants will take you well into fall with style and beautiful sage greens blended with pinks and purples. As a bonus, the colors of flowering cabbage and kale only intensify as the weather gets colder, especially after a frost. Cabbages are wonderful grouped in either rustic garden planters or low baskets. They also bring great color and texture to mixed container gardens. Kales can look great in funky shallow baskets, window boxes, or modern metal planters with clean lines. These are bold plants, so don’t be afraid to plant them in unusual containers or combine them with unlikely companions.

  • USDA Hardiness Zones: 2 to 11
  • Leaf Color Varieties: Ornamental leaves in purple, rose, cream
  • Light: Full sun to partial shade
  • Soil Needs: Loamy soil
  • Deer Resistant: No

• 05 of 12

   

  HaiGala / Getty Images

  The large Sedum genus recently was split with 33 species reassigned to the Hylotelephium genus). This included some standard favorites such as 'Autumn Joy,' now known as Hylotelephium 'Herbstfreude' Autumn Joy. However, they are all still generally known by the common name of sedum or stonecrop.

  Many of the fall-blooming Sedum (or Hylotelephium) species are classic plants for fall container gardens. Blooming in late summer to early fall, sedum is easy to grow in containers and there is a vast array of species and cultivars with different heights, textures, and flower forms. If you want to overwinter a fall container outdoors, sedum is a particularly good choice because the dried flowers can look beautiful, especially covered with snow or frost. Some varieties can grow quite tall and are great to use in the center or back of a container.

  • USDA Hardiness Zones: 3 to 10
  • Flower Color Varieties: Pink to mauve
  • Light: Full sun
  • Soil Needs: Average soil with good drainage
  • Deer Resistant: Occasionally

  Tip

  To keep your garden interesting even in winter, choose plants like sedum that can overwinter with continuously interesting flowers and foliage.

• 06 of 12

  Marie Iannotti

  The potted garden mums that are sold so prevalently for fall display are typically forced into late bloom by commercial growers, who keep them closely pruned until late July, waiting until early fall to display them for sale at nurseries. If you are growing potted mums from transplants purchased in the spring, they will be likely to bloom in mid to late summer unless you pinch off all buds and keep the shoots pruned back. If you stop pruning in early July, the plants will likely flesh out and begin blooming in September.

  Although they are perennials, mums are more typically grown as annuals, discarded after blooming ends with the frost of late fall. But potted mums can sometimes be overwintered if you cut back the shoots and place them in a sheltered location over the coldest months. Put the pots back into a warm sunny location in spring, and keep them closely pruned again until mid-summer.

  • USDA Hardiness Zones: 4 to 9
  • Flower Color Varieties:  Lavender, maroon, purple, white, yellow, coppery orange
  • Light: Full sun
  • Soil Needs: Moist, well-drained soil
  • Deer Resistant: Occasionally

• 07 of 12

  Kevin Dutton

  The blue or indigo purple flowers of aster are a symbol of the fall garden and can work equally well in a fall container garden. Because most types grow rather tall—as much as 6 feet—these are plants best suited for very large containers. As container plants, they do best when planted in rich soil and kept moist but not soggy. After flowering is complete, cut the stems back completely and store the potted plants in a cold frame or greenhouse.

  • USDA Hardiness Zones: 3 to 9
  • Flower Color Varieties: Violet or blue with yellow centers
  • Light: Full sun
  • Soil Needs: Medium, well-drained soil
  • Deer Resistant: Yes

• 08 of 12

  Kerry Michaels

  Pansies are classic cool-weather annuals that typically make their appearance in the early spring garden, but they can be planted again for the fall after the weather has cooled. Pansies don't do well in the hot months of mid-summer. They need fairly moist soil, so water them frequently when growing them in containers or hanging baskets.

  • USDA Hardiness Zones: 6 to 9
  • Flower Color Varieties:  Many shades of blue and purple, rose, yellow, orange, maroon, white; solid and bi-colors often with darker centers
  • Light: Full sun to part shade
  • Soil Needs: Moist, well-drained soil
  • Deer Resistant: No

• 09 of 12

  David Beaulieu

  Black-eyed Susan is a traditional form of a perennial daisy that can be grown in containers as well as in the garden. It blooms from mid-summer to late fall and can be overwintered if the containers are placed in a sheltered area for the cold months. Unlike many perennials, black-eyed Susans are relatively easy to grow from seed. Use well-drained potting soil.

  • USDA Hardiness Zones: 3 to 7
  • Flower Color Varieties: Golden yellow
  • Light: Full sun
  • Soil Needs: Average, medium moisture soil
  • Deer Resistant: Yes

• 10 of 12

  alvaroreguly

  The various forms of perennial coneflower are standard fall bloomers in the garden, blooming with daisy-like flowers in late summer that last through the fall, but they can also work well in containers. In most climates, the containers can be moved to a sheltered area to successfully overwinter. Or they can be grown as annuals, planted afresh in containers each spring.

  • USDA Hardiness Zones: 3 to 8
  • Flower Color Varieties: Purplish pink, white; other colors such as hot pink, orange, red, and golden yellow have been recently introduced to the market
  • Light: Full sun to part shade
  • Soil Needs: Average dry to medium-moisture soil
  • Deer Resistant: Usually

• 11 of 12

  Maria Mosolova / Getty Images

  This warm-weather plant is grown as an annual in most climates. This profuse bloomer produces flowers that resemble small petunias (to which it is related) and holds up well as the weather cools in the fall. The million bells plant is more often grown in containers than in garden soil. It has a mounding habit that works well in conjunction with trailing plants in mixed hanging baskets or large containers.

  • USDA Hardiness Zones: 9 to 11
  • Flower Color Varieties: Violet, blue, pink, red, magenta, yellow, bronze, white
  • Light: Full sun
  • Soil Needs: Rich, well-drained soil
  • Dear Resistant: Usually

• 12 of 12

  David Beaulieu

  Although not a flowering plant, this ornamental grass makes a good centerpiece for large mixed containers, presented best when surrounded by cascading plants. The stalks are topped with attractive bristling seed heads in late summer, which last well into fall. The plant has an arching, clumping growth habit and grows up to 5 feet tall. Purple fountain grass is a warm-weather perennial often grown as an annual because it grows quickly from seeds.

  • USDA Hardiness Zones: 9 to 11
  • Leaf Color Varieties: Burgundy red
  • Light: Full sun to part shade
  • Soil Needs: Medium-moisture, well-drained soil
  • Deer Resistant: Yes

Learn More

Watch Now: 8 Mistakes You're Making in Your Container Garden

Autumn flowers for a container garden.

When autumn comes into its own, the garden is changing every day. A bright parade of shrubs and trees and the rapid withering of plants, which until recently seemed to be the center of everyone's attention, are changing the appearance of not only garden panoramas. On the terrace, in the relaxation area, on the balconies, in small and large potted gardens, the first cold snap leads to the irreversible loss of the best flowering stars. Empty places in street flowerpots are reminiscent of a bygone summer. But there are plants that will have time to fill in the gaps and once again paint your favorite flower girls with bright colors.

Contents:

• Fall Flowers Save Empty Flower Girls
• Traditional autumn stars for outdoor flowerpots
• Outdoor perennials in autumn container arrangements
• Practical nuances of the autumn transformation of street flowerpots

Autumn flowers as a rescue for empty flower girls

Autumn for all kinds of potted, container and hanging arrangements is considered to be far from the most stellar season. It can be sad to watch the gradual departure from the garden scene of your favorite mobile compositions and bright spots. But it is not at all necessary to be inactive: as for any other season, nature has its own colors for autumn. Plants that can decorate outdoor flowerpots and flower girls at the end of the garden season may not boast of quantity, but they are irreplaceable and unique in their own way.

The assortment of autumn plants is often overlooked, considering them uninteresting. After all, it’s not without reason that it is flyers who rule the ball in flower girls and flowerpots. Only a few of the most persistent species, pleasing all summer with relentless flowering, with the advent of cold weather and heavy rainfall, continue to amuse with their beauty, and only a few are able to cope with the first frosts. But almost always, summer plants, even those that continue to bloom, inevitably lose their attractiveness - they turn pale, dry, slowly fade, fighting for every ray of gentle autumn sun.

Autumn stars appear on the shelves of flower shops and garden centers as early as the end of summer, but they make themselves especially clear only at the time of mass wilting of the annuals. Their seemingly not so catchy beauty appears against the backdrop of nature preparing for winter in a completely new light. Autumn stars are crops that rely on bright autumn colors, the best plants that bloom when daylight begins to wane, and selected decorative leafy beauties.

Gold, copper, silver, crimson, fiery blaze - these are the dominant colors of those plants that will gladly save the appearance of potted gardens and large flower girls. And the colors of precious metals, beautiful textures, patterns and lace among them are much more common than bright colors.

Traditional autumn stars for outdoor flowerpots

The brightest container stars of autumn are still flowering plants – those species that transform flower beds and stalls with their cushion-like bushes. Chrysanthemums, asters, echinacea, rudbeckia - these are just a few candidates for vacant places in outdoor flowerpots.

Seasonal favorites chrysanthemums and asters do not even have to be planted in the containers themselves - they can simply be placed in empty containers or nearby, additionally decorated. Dazzling lemon, golden, crimson, pink, white, lilac, cherry - everyone can choose the colors of these stars to their liking. They will hold on to the last chance to stay in the garden and will delight you with unprecedented bright colors.

Winter violets are becoming more and more popular with us - special varieties of tricolor, alpine, horned violets with miniature flowers that appear on sale along with chrysanthemums with miniature flowers, the beauty of which cannot be looked away.

Among purely seasonal plants - annuals and biennials - ornamental sunflowers and ornamental varieties of cabbage remain absolute favorites. They are good in open soil, but they cannot be found in potted form. Just one rosette of bright cabbage can replace several flyers. And by planting them in a checkerboard pattern, you can create an amazing patterned composition that is not even afraid of the beginning of winter in a large stone flower bed.

A unique charm in autumn will be added to street flowerpots by moonflower, as well as Californian escholcia that can withstand light frosts, snapdragons, morning glory, sweet potato, coleus, multi-leaved nasturtium, amaranth, oxalis and marigolds that are not afraid of frost down to -5 ° C. Parsley and dill greens look unexpectedly fresh in street flowerpots, which will not lose their beauty even after the first frosts come.

In autumn, plants come to the fore, which many underestimate as a candidate for decorating flower girls - representatives of heathers. Their season starts only in September, when on the shelves in small pots all the shades of noble purple dazzle surprisingly graceful, hardy and such textural Erics and heathers with their elegant bushes.

In outdoor flowerpots they look amazingly beautiful and will replace the fading petunias and their co. with their strict northern beauty, as if anticipating the imminent arrival of winter and adding Scandinavian charm to the compositions.

Outdoor perennials in autumn container compositions

The list of seasonal additions for outdoor flowerpots is not limited to the classics. Many garden perennials, especially if they are separated in the fall, will gladly settle in an outdoor flowerpot - even if only temporarily.

You can introduce such elegant bushes into the compositions : veronica-hebe; ayania pacific; lemon thyme; loosestrife; saxifrage; cumin; bastard; sage; milkweed; sedum; loosestrife monet; geyher and geyherella; yasnotok; bergenia; lofant; young; hypericum; orostachis; polynya; survivors; cleaner; sedges, ounces, calamus, penisetum, fescue and other bright ornamental grasses that transform in autumn.

Do not forget about those plants that please with autumn flowering in the meadows and flower beds in the garden. The dazzling blue of gentians, graceful cyclamen bushes and touching inflorescences of autumn crocuses are good not only in flower beds. Plants that have been transferred to pots in time or planted with other perennials in outdoor flowerpots will seem like the exclusive stars of the autumn garden.

Miniature and clipped shrubs and woody shrubs are always appropriate in outdoor flowerpots in autumn. Small boxwood, holly, ornamental peppers, wintergreen, calocephalus, Japanese skimmia, hydrangeas, rhododendrons, dwarf pine or spruce, young yew or thuja, which will add to the collection of tub accents, can be moved and rearranged, changing their role. Many tub plants are planted in tubs and bought just in the fall, and can be used as temporary accents in potted arrangements.

But if you are looking for an evergreen plant that will decorate outdoor flowerpots even when the garden is already shackled by the breath of winter, then it's time to remember the unique talents of ivy. Their luxurious leaves and flexible shoots are able to bring absolutely inimitable elegant accents to any potted and container composition. And even under the snow, the classic beauty of these garden all-rounders will not lose its meaning.

Practical nuances of autumn transformation of outdoor flowerpots

There are rules in filling outdoor flowerpots with new autumn plants, especially if the former inhabitants are gone: compositions are made in such a way as to achieve the greatest variety of shapes and textures. The color scheme can remain harmonious, but the plants should stand out brightly from their neighbors.

Enhance the beauty of autumn stars in potted gardens and arrangements in flower beds with additional decor. A woodpile, bright dry leaves instead of mulch, an old basket filled with apples, brightly colored pumpkins, colorful fabrics tied to containers, a scattering of cones or nuts, dry bouquets or sheaves of hay, candles, lanterns - little tricks that will add autumn charm to your garden and emphasize beauty of selected plants.

To make autumn arrangements in outdoor flowerpots pleasing before winter comes, it is worth taking care of plants. In case of unexpected severe freezing, it is better to have stocked materials for temporary shelter on hand. Simple coasters to keep the containers from coming into contact with cold paving, a smart "fur coat" around the flower girl and a high layer of mulch will help prolong the season and warm the containers.

Hanging gardens: 10 unpretentious hanging plants

1. Asplenium nest or Kostenets

Kostenets has unusual green petals with a wavy edge. It can grow anywhere, but it's best to keep it out of direct sunlight and water it once a week.

Photo

feey/Unsplash

2. Tillandsia

If you love exotic plants, Tillandsia will definitely appeal to you. They can be easily hung up, they are unpretentious in care, because they do not require soil and a lot of water.

Photo

getty

3. Common ivy

Ivy is perhaps the most famous hanging plant that can easily freshen up any interior. To keep it evergreen and grow more, don't forget to spray it with water every week, and keep a close eye on moisture levels in winter.

Photo

Véronique Trudel/Unsplash

This type of hanging plant thrives in humid environments, so the bathroom is the perfect place for it.

Photo

Unknown Wong/Unsplash

5. Epipremnum aureus

This climbing plant is ideal for hanging in a pot or basket. Find him a medium to low lit corner with indirect light, water once every 1-2 weeks, and he will delight the eye with his beautiful vines for a long time.

Photo

Taylor Heery/Unsplash

6. Eucalyptus

Make your home cozy with the fresh smell of eucalyptus. You can hang the stems from thin wooden branches in the bedroom or bathroom, as in the photo below.

Photo

homestolove

7. Tillandsia xerographic

This amazing ornamental plant is beautiful in itself. It grows without support, so it is enough to hang it on a twine or ribbon and soak it in water once a week. Everyone seems to know the Philodendron. Its heart-shaped leaves and docile nature make it an ideal houseplant. It requires medium to low indirect light and watering every 1-2 weeks.

Photo

Sarah Bronske/Unsplash

9.

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